1. Industrial field
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display for a notebook-type personal computer and a method for assembling the same.
2. Prior art
FIG. 4 is a partially sectional view showing an upper side portion of a conventional liquid crystal display for a notebook-type personal computer. In the drawing, reference numeral 3 is a liquid crystal display module in which a back light panel is combined with a liquid crystal display panel including a liquid crystal plate integrated with a driving circuit substrate. Numeral 14 is an upper case having a display opening portion, and in which upper side portion is provided with a claw which is formed by bending. Numeral 15 is a lower case having a groove 15a in which a claw 16 is inserted and which stores the liquid crystal display module 3 in cooperation with the upper case 14. The letter A in the drawing shows a space required for inserting the claw 16 into the groove 15a when the liquid crystal display is assembled. In this manner, the conventional liquid crystal display for a notebook-type personal computer is provided with a claw escaping space A for inserting the claw 16 into the lower case 15 when the liquid crystal display module 3 is stored into the upper case 14 and the lowercase 15.
On the other hand, in order to make the frame of the liquid crystal display narrow, it is desirable to minimize the space A for inserting the claw 16. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which the lower case 15 is formed with a resin or the like having a high elastic modulus and the lower case 15 is deformed outwardly and fitted with the upper case 14 when the claw 16 is inserted. There is proposed another method to cope with the case where there is no space for inserting the head of the claw 16. In this method, after shifting the liquid crystal display module 3 downward and fitting the upper side of the upper case 14 with the lower case 15, the liquid crystal display module 3 is moved from outside to a predetermined position using a jig or the like.
In recent years, under the background that the liquid crystal display for a notebook-type personal computer has become thinner, mechanical strength of the liquid crystal display tends to decrease accordingly. Moreover, a main body (not shown in the drawing) including an electronic controller and the liquid crystal display are connected through a hinge having a torque. As the screen has become larger, a distance between the point of application and the center of rotation increases when the display is opened and closed, and therefore a larger bending moment comes to act on the liquid crystal display portion.
While the screen of the liquid crystal display panel has become larger, size of the main body depending on size of the keyboard is almost fixed. For design reasons, it is necessary that the configurations of the main body and the liquid crystal display in a plane are equal in size, and consequently the frame of the liquid crystal display is required to be narrower. As a result, it is getting more difficult to provide the space A for inserting the fitting claw 16 like in the conventional liquid crystal display shown in FIG. 4 because of increase in the distance between the end face of the display plane and the external configuration.
As the liquid crystal display becomes thinner, there is a tendency to use a metal material or the like of high rigidity for the lower case 15 in order to maintain the mechanical strength of the liquid crystal display. In general, however, a metal material has a high elastic modulus, and it is difficult to deform the lower case 15 outwardly in order to fit the lower case 15 with the upper case 14 when the claw 16 is inserted. Moreover, the assembling method in which the position of the liquid crystal display module 3 is adjusted using a jig or the like has problems such as insufficient productivity, possibility of harming the liquid crystal display module 3 and other parts.
The present invention was, made to solve the above-discussed problems and has an object of providing a highly reliable liquid crystal display superior in mechanical strength and capable of enlarging the screen while making the frame narrow. The invention also provides a method for assembling such a liquid crystal display.
A liquid crystal display according to the invention comprises:
a liquid crystal display module in which a back light panel is combined with a liquid crystal display panel including a liquid crystal plate which is one with a driving circuit substrate;
an upper case which has an upper side portion and a lower side portion facing each other and a pair of side portions provided between the upper and lower side portions, and forms a display opening portion with the upper side portion, lower side portion, and pair of side portions;
a claw provided on the upper side portion of the upper case;
a lower case which has a groove in which the claw fits and stores the liquid crystal display module with the upper case; and
liquid crystal display module positioning projections each being provided on each of two side portions of the upper case and including a tapered portion which is formed to be thinner toward the end and a straight portion serving as a base portion; and
wherein both side portions of the liquid crystal display module are provided with liquid crystal display module positioning holes in which the positioning projections are inserted.
It is preferable that the liquid crystal display module positioning holes are directly formed on both side portions of the liquid crystal display module.
It is preferable that the liquid crystal display module positioning holes are formed on positioning parts fixed to the liquid crystal display module.
A liquid crystal display according to the invention comprises:
a liquid crystal display module in which a back light panel is combined with a liquid crystal display panel including a liquid crystal plate which is one with a driving circuit substrate;
an upper case which has an upper side portion and a lower side portion facing each other and a pair of side portions provided between the upper and lower side portions, and forms a display opening portion with the upper side portion, lower side portion, and pair of side portions;
a claw provided on the upper side portion of the upper case;
a lower case which has a groove in which the claw fits and stores the liquid crystal display module with the upper case; and
liquid crystal display module positioning projections each being provided on each of two side portions of the upper case and including a tapered portion which is formed to be thinner toward the end and a straight portion serving as a base portion; and
wherein both side portions of the upper case are provided with liquid crystal display module positioning holes in which the positioning projections are inserted.
It is preferable that the liquid crystal display module positioning projections are formed on both side portions of the mentioned liquid crystal display module.
It is preferable that the liquid crystal display module positioning projections are formed on positioning parts fixed on the mentioned liquid crystal display module.
It is preferable that the lower case is made of a metal material such as magnesium alloy of high rigidity.
A method for assembling a liquid crystal display according to the invention is a method for assembling a liquid crystal display which possesses a liquid crystal display module in which a back light panel is combined with a liquid crystal display panel including a liquid crystal plate integrated with a driving circuit substrate, an upper case which has an upper side portion and a lower side portion facing each other and a pair of side portions located between the upper and lower side portions and forms a display opening portion with the upper side portion, lower side portion, and pair of side portions, a claw located on the upper side portion of the upper case, and a lower case which has a groove in which the claw fits, and in which the liquid crystal display module is stored in the upper case and the lower case,
wherein the method includes the steps of:
placing the liquid crystal display module on the lower case at a position, which is shifted from a predetermined position toward the lower side portion by a distance required for inserting the claw located at the upper side portion of the upper case into the groove of the lower case;
fitting the claw located at the upper side portion of the upper case into the groove on the lower case;
turning the upper case toward the lower case with the claw as a center;
fitting both side portions and the lower side portion of the upper case with those of the lower case;
bringing tapered portions located at the ends of liquid crystal display module positioning projections provided on both side portions of the upper case into contact with end faces of liquid crystal display module positioning holes provided on both side portions of the liquid crystal display module;
moving the liquid crystal display module toward a predetermined position while pushing up the liquid crystal display module toward the upper side portion through the contact portions;
inserting the positioning projections into the positioning holes; and
conducting a final positioning of the liquid crystal display module making use of straight portions serving as a base of the positioning projections.
It is also preferable that the method includes a step of tightening a screw for fixing the liquid crystal display module and the lower case through a screw hole located on the upper case, after conducting the final positioning of the liquid crystal display module.
In the invention, the liquid crystal display module positioning projections each including a tapered portion which is formed to be thinner toward the end and a straight portion serving as a base are located on both side portions of the upper case and the liquid crystal display module positioning holes where the positioning projections are inserted are located on both side portions of the liquid crystal display module. As a result, at the time of assembling the liquid crystal display in which the liquid crystal display module is stored in the upper case and lower case, the liquid crystal display module can be placed on the lower case at a position, which is shifted from a predetermined position toward the lower side portion by a distance required for inserting the claw located at the upper side portion of the upper case into the groove of the lower case. After fitting the claw located at the upper side portion of the upper case into the groove on the lower case, the tapered portions at the ends of the liquid crystal display module positioning projections can be brought into contact with the end faces of the liquid crystal display module positioning holes. The liquid crystal display module can be moved toward the predetermined position while pushing up the liquid crystal display module toward the upper side portion through the contact portions. As a result, it becomes possible to easily assemble the liquid crystal display with high accuracy. It is further possible to make the frame narrow and enlarge the screen because an excess space, which has been required in the conventional liquid crystal display, for inserting the claw is no more necessary in the upper side portion.
Furthermore, it is possible to use a metal material such as magnesium alloy of high rigidity for the lower case, and therefore a highly reliable liquid crystal display which is superior in mechanical strength can be obtained.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.